Langston Hughes Poetry Analysis Essay

Langston Hughes was a poet with many artistic abilities. His writing and drawings established the lifestyles of many African Americans during this time. In a poem called “I, Too” Hughes express his feelings as an African American, a brother, and someone who deserves to fit in society. He states “I, too sing America” (1039). Hughes saw himself as an individual who has a voice in America even though his skin is a little darker. In a poem called “Democracy” Hughes states: “I have as much right as the other fellow has to stand on my own two feet and own the land” (1043). Hughes was speaking for every African American whom were still dealing with segregation, racism, and freedom.

A huddle of horns And a tinkle of glass A note Handed down from Marcus to Malcolm To a brother Too bad and too cool to give his name. Sometimes despair Makes the stoops shudder Sometimes there are endless depths of pain Singing a capella on street corners

Langston Hughes was a successful African-American poet of the Harlem renaissance in the 20th century. Hughes' had a simple and cultured writing style. "Harlem" is filled with rhythm, jazz, blues, imagery, and evokes vivid images within the mind. The poem focuses on what could happen to deferred dreams. Hughes' aim is to make it clear that if you postpone your dreams you might not get another chance to attain it--so take those dreams and run. Each question associates with negative effects of deferred dreams. The imagery from the poem causes the reader to be pulled in by the writer's words.

Although Hughes is displaying hope for a better life, the tone throughout this poem is angry and resentful. He says “Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed!” By saying this, he is showing he is angry at what the world has condemned to. He is saying America is greedy and he is angry about it. He is bitter that America has made people conform to this lifestyle and has made it difficult for people to accomplish their

Hughes feels like his being characterized into one common African-American standard instead of his individual identity, this part of the poem Hughes describes the things he likes and what interest him expressing his true identity stating that just because his colored doesn't make him like the same stuff as other. Hughes identifies himself with Harlem by emphasizing the sound and the view of the city, claiming to hear Harlem, that Harlem is part of him is who he is.He uses a rhetorical question asking since he is colored does that make his paper colored or less important than others. I feel the same I too struggle to find my identity in myself because being a young African-American in America is hard.People expect you to act a certain way, you are put into this category.I always changed my personality in order to make friends or to appear a certain way, sometimes I feel like I'm not important and other times am at the top of the world. At the moment am trying to find something that I can identify with that I can be like this is me, we are part of each other, I feel and hear just like Hughes found himself in Harlem.

"Tomorrow, I 'll be at the table When company comes." States Black writer Langston Hughes. America is great, isn 't it? This country was built on Liberty, and is a beacon to the rest of the world to which refugees can traverse towards. However, the course of actions in this country has not always been rainbows and sunshine, nor is it today even. There was a time in this wonderful country when Liberty seemed to dwindle, and the hope for our country 's equality was slight. During this time, lived a unique writer by the name of Walt Whitman, who awed the country with his patriotic voice which he embedded into his literature. One of his most famous poems, I Hear America Singing, touched the heart of the American People by recognizing the many

In many of Hughes poems, he uses complex diction to communicate his thoughts on racism. For example, in Hughes poem You and your whole race he says “ And be ashamed that such supine poverty exists there,”. This superior word choice helps communicate that Hughes was in a difficult time where he was very impecunious.

Before I explain my take on what "identity" means in Langston Hughes works, I would like explain a little about a man who happened to be one of the most recognizable names in African- American literature, and the struggle he faced – as a writer and mostly as an African American. A brief glimpse into our darkest days and description of his life and about him will help elucidate the background, and his style of writing. Jordan stated African Americans journey and identity in the Americans started on the wrong no “Over a period of more than three centuries, in the slave ships of the Middle Passage and the plantations of the American South, peoples from many nations of what is now called West and Central Africa, brought together under conditions of extreme brutality, reinvented themselves as one people and they renamed themselves ‘African’, ‘Coloured People’ and ‘Negro’. Later, from end of the nineteenth century to the first few decades of the twentieth century, mostly in northern urban centres of the USA, the descendants of the slaves reinvented themselves again, this time as the ‘New Negro’”(848-891).

In our journey through life, we all have certain expectations of how we would like our lives to be. All of us strive to reach a certain level of self-actulization and acceptance. It could thus be said that all of us live a dream. Some of these individual dreams inevitably become the collective dream of many people. In "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)", Langston Hughes makes use of symbolism as well as powerful sensory imagery to show us the emotions that he and his people go through in their quest for freedom and equality. By using questions he builds the poem towards an exciting climax.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967), one of the most prominent figures in the world of Harlem, has come to be an African American poet as well as a legend of a variety of fields such as music, children's literature and journalism. Through his poetry, plays, short stories, novels, autobiographies, children's books, newspaper columns, Negro histories, edited anthologies, and other works, Hughes is considered a voice of the African-American people and a prime example of the magnificence of the Harlem Renaissance who promoted equality, condemned racism and injustice that the Negro society endured, and left behind a precious literary and enduring legacy for the future generations. In an endeavor to explore why and to what extent his poetry has still

It further reveals that Hughes’ response to racial injustice did not always use wonderful life to glorify Negro culture, at the same time, he always used the objective perspective to depict the reality and show people the laughs and

Black poetry is poetry that (1) is grounded in the black experience; (2) utilizes black music as a structural or emulative model; and (3) "consciously" transforms the prevailing standards of poetry through and inconoclastic and innovative use of language.

Knowledge to me is information and skills that is obtained through education or life experience. It is also about having an understanding of the information obtained and having the ability to pass the information on to others. Individual power is one person strength, endurance and ability to have an open mind to do the impossible. I believe that everyone possess some form of individual power and knowledge enhances that characteristic in a person. However, one must be willing to receive knowledge from other in order to enhance their individual power. Each reading from this week shows how knowledge and individual power work hand in hand as well as how the impact our lives as well as other. I believe that each of the readings show, The more you know, the greater you individual power becomes.

Langston Hughes connects with his audience throughout his poetry by focusing on life's matters. He brings out the significance of life by talking about obstacles that many people encounter in their lives. As Ellen Bailey states, "His work as a poet, novelist, dramatist, short-story writer, essayist, editor, and lyricist focused on the lives of lower class black Americans," which is recalled in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "and he often spoke out against racial injustice." But this poem is about all of humanity. "Life is Fine" by Langston Hughes is about staying optimistic when being challenged in life because it talks about many scenarios where the narrator wants to give up on life but never follows through because life is too good.

Poetry is a complicated yet beautiful artform. It allows for an individual to express their emotions and ideas by painting a picture using eloquent lines. Although alluring, poetry is also perplexing. It is almost impossible to fully understand what the author was exactly trying to get across in writing. There are however, multiple factors that can be used to help analyze poetry to get a better feel of that certain piece. In this paper, I will be analyzing Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes using irony, symbols, tone, rhyme, rhythm and meter.